- CC 300 DX - Global and U.S. Health Care: Politics and Policy
- 3 Credits
MWF 2:00-2:50 pm - Professor Berry
The aim of this course is to examine health systems and health policies from the global perspective and at the level of national comparisons, with a focus on but not a limitation to developing countries. The class will conduct an overview of global health care and the United States health care system, its components, and the policy challenges created by the organization of the system. We will give attention to the status and implementation of the 2010 reform legislation, often referred to as Obamacare, and the ongoing budget debate in the U.S. Congress related to health care. We will focus on the major health policy institutions and important issues that cut across institutions, including private insurers and the federal/state financing programs (Medicare and Medicaid/SCHIP).
As it relates to global health care the course will review the unprecedented increases in life expectancy for most of the world over the previous century. The AIDS epidemic has led some countries to revert to mortality levels not seen in rich countries since the 1880s or earlier and have experienced significant downturns in health, particularly among men. In comparison, the U.S., despite its wealth and large health expenditures, fares more poorly than virtually all other wealth countries in terms of infant death rates, and the health of middle aged and older Americans – especially women – is falling behind that of their peers. At the same time, inequalities in health between the rich and the poor and whites and African-Americans have widened.
The course will be a combination of lectures and discussions. There will be readings for each topic and videos for many of them (available on Blackboard or online). The readings are drawn from magazines, journals, newspapers, popular books, and textbooks. In addition to the required readings, most topics provide some optional readings. The instructor will introduce topics and guide discussions. Students are expected to actively participate in the discussion. Literature from economics, politics, public policy, and ethics will be incorporated into discussions and written exercises. No disciplinary background is assumed, nor is any special familiarity with the field of health care required.
Required texts and readings may include:
- Schoeni, Robert F., House, James S., Kaplan, George A. and Pollack, Harold (eds.) 2008. Making Americans Healthier: Social Economic Policy as Health Policy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Riley, James C. 2001. Rising Life Expectancy: A Global History. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Weekly Articles pertaining to “Topic of the Week”
